Darkness Descend
by revenanttrickster
Summary: Vampire AU. It all started when Kuroko Tetsuya, an ordinary teenage boy with a weak presence, caught the interest of one powerful vampire named Akashi Seijuurou. (AkaKuro)
1. 1st Night

**Disclaimer:** Kuroko no Basket is owned by Fujimaki Tadatoshi

**Pairing:** AkaKuro

_First posted on Tumblr for AkaKuroWeek2014._

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**First Night: The Emperor's Captivation**

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It was a night of a full moon.

The city was bustling along as any ordinary night had been. With the cars speeding down the roads illuminated by its headlights. Establishments with colorful and flashing neon lights to attract people and customers. Crowds from office workers, to families, to students and other types of people walking, running or strolling down the busy streets.

However, atop of one tall skyscraper stood a young man wearing a dark long coat with a white shirt and a red tie underneath, black trousers and black boots. With his right foot stepping on the ledge of the rooftop, he carefully surveyed the busy city below him. He didn't mind that he was at the edge and could fall off any minute especially when a gust of wind flew by.

Not that he could anyway.

Watching the moving crowds below, he recalled that it has been a long time since he came into a city. He preferred living in a peaceful and quiet area with less people in sight. Ironically, he does need humans to live no matter how annoying they might be.

He is, after all, a vampire.

Still, there is one advantage to living close to a city—a variety of humans he could choose from for his feedings. He doesn't want any ordinary human either. He is a bit particular when it comes to the blood he drinks as some humans tasted vile or bland. His companions knew of his preference and brought humans adequate to his taste. Nonetheless, what he wants is a human with a sweet tasting blood and he would find that person soon. He'll do anything to taste that kind of blood.

That is why, on that particular night, he chose to go hunting.

He vaguely remembered that last time he hunted and wants to feel the rush of hunting again. It was only natural, of course, to have this kind of instinct. All predators have that.

He smiled at the thought; showing sharp fangs as his red eyes glowed eerily matching his crimson hair.

Tugging his black gloves tighter in his hands, he jumped from building to building and let his wild instincts guide him and then suddenly vanished into the dark night.

It was now time to hunt for his prey.

**xXx**

"You're going home Kuroko? You wanna come join us to Maji Burger?"

Kuroko turned to Furihata Kouki—a classmate of his and a member of the library committee like him—who asked and beside the brown haired freshman was Kawahara Kouichi and Fukuda Hiroshi.

Kuroko shook his head. "I'm sorry. I have to refuse."

"This is rare," said Fukuda. "You're refusing vanilla milkshake."

Kuroko almost pouted when he heard that. "There's a book that came out recently and I'm going to the bookstore to buy it before it closes."

"But bookstores don't close this early," Kawahara said while checking his watch.

"It's a rare book and only sold at certain bookstores," Kuroko explained.

"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow then Kuroko," Furihata said, waving goodbye to him.

Kuroko waved goodbye to his three friends before making his way out of the school and to the bookstore. While walking, he texted his mother that he'll be coming home late so as not to worry her. With his weak presence, he easily passed the crowd of people in the street undetected. Moving like a shadow, he finally arrived at his destination and after paying for his purchase, soon left after.

As he walked into a quiet neighborhood, he debated whether he should go to Maji Burger to get his favorite vanilla milkshake or go home straight where his mother is preparing dinner.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. He furtively glanced behind him only to find no one in the vicinity. He furrowed his brows in confusion. He had the feeling that someone was following him but maybe it was his imagination. No one could follow him anyway.

Even so, it was better to be safe. So he decided to head home instead of going to Maji Burger.

Kuroko took the longest route to his house where a flock of people passed by rather than the usual directions he always take.

**xXx**

Akashi Seijuurou was fascinated.

He never knew that he could be this interested to a human. But the human wasn't quite ordinary either.

He was passing down a busy street, blending into the shadows when he saw a human doing the same thing as him. Moving along like a ghost. He even had a fleeting thought that the human might be a ghost or even a vampire until he heard the human's beating heart. He never met a human like him before and his curiosity was then piqued. His intuition was even telling him to keep an eye on the human. So he silently trailed after the human to a bookstore and watched as the other purchased a book.

It was when he was following after the human in a silent neighborhood that he finally got a whiff of a sweet scent of blood. And it was coming from the human he was tailing. The human's blood scent was so faint that a normal vampire wouldn't be able to discern it.

Akashi smirked. But he wasn't an ordinary vampire and he could sense the sweet tasting blood coming from the human.

He was about to close in when the human boy suddenly stopped. He swiftly jumped onto a nearby roof before the human could turn around.

He narrowed his eyes contemplatively. He knew that no human or even a vampire was following the boy and in turn him so there's no reason for the human to cautiously look back. Unless…

Akashi smiled. This keeps getting more and more interesting especially when the human boy took a mobbed area to go home instead of the, while nearest, a secluded and dark path where he might be captured.

**xXx**

Kuroko rubbed the back of his neck nervously and looked around the school courtyard. Aside from the trees and its falling leaves, birds chirping as they flew by and some students mingling around, there wasn't anyone he found suspicious enough. He has this uneasy feeling of being watched and followed ever since he left his house this morning.

He knew he was feeling a bit paranoid. But who wouldn't, particularly when he was used to being invisible and overlooked due to his weak presence. So the feeling of being stalked made his guard up and put him on edge. Whoever was shadowing him was pretty good at hiding since he never caught even a glimpse and even his misdirection doesn't seem to work when he tried to blend in a crowd to confuse his stalker only to no avail.

"You okay Kuroko? You haven't touched your food yet."

He turned to Kawahara, who was staring at him worriedly. "I'm fine," he reassured them and started to eat his bento.

"Are you sure?" it was Furihata's turn to ask. "You seem a little tense."

"I just have a lot of things in my mind."

"Well, if you have any problems don't hesitate to talk to us," Fukuda said. "We'll listen and help you as best as we can."

Kuroko let out a soft smile at his friend's supportiveness. "Thank you."

**xXx**

Akashi leaned back against the railing in the rooftop as he watched the human—no, Kuroko Tetsuya across the building he was currently at. He finally got to know his name last night when he heard Kuroko's mother calling him for dinner.

From his observations of the boy, Kuroko Tetsuya is an average high school student with an even more average grade, low stamina and seems to be hopeless at sports aside from—surprisingly—basketball, very formal, quiet and diligent, loves to read in his spare time and was even part of the library committee and prefers to be alone except while hanging out with three students he saw at lunch, who seemed to be the teal head's friends (and probably even his only friends).

Kuroko Tetsuya was an ordinary human with the exception of his low presence, of course.

That weak presence is probably the reason why the boy's scent of blood is unnoticeable. This was the first time he met an intriguing human like Kuroko. Though he did notice that Kuroko's mother had the same low presence but it seems like Kuroko's were much weaker.

His musings was interrupted when his cell phone suddenly rang.

"Shintarou," he greeted first, already knowing who at the other line was.

"_Akashi, I don't mean to pry but where are you? Not that I'm worried or anything, it's just that Murasakibara and Kise won't leave me alone and kept asking me your whereabouts."_

"I'm in a school."

"_School?"_

Akashi could hear the confusion and incredulousness in Midorima's voice. But he doesn't have time for any of that.

"Shintarou, take the coven out of the mansion tonight."

"_Is there something wrong Akashi?"_

"No, nothing is wrong Shintarou. Just do as I say."

"_As you wish, Akashi. We'll leave at dusk."_

Akashi hanged up and turned to the teal haired human boy that caught his interest.

He smirked. It was time.

**xXx**

Kuroko breathed a sigh of relief as walked towards his house while reading his book. The sensation of being watched and shadowed vanished after lunch time. Though his intuition was telling to still keep his guard up and he would until he was in the safe haven of his home.

He was lost in his own thoughts that he wasn't minding where he was going and bumped into someone, dropping his book. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

He looked at the person he bumped into and blinked at the red eyes staring deeply at him.

The stranger crouched down to pick up his fallen book and held it out to him. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Kuroko said and took his book.

All of a sudden, he shivered when their hands briefly touched. His instincts were screaming at him to go away. He stared wide eyed at the person in front of him and even though he wants to run away from there, he couldn't and stayed frozen on his spot.

The stranger seemed to know what he was thinking and shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't have that."

The next thing Kuroko knew, he felt a sharp pain on his nape and darkness swallowed his vision.

He knew nothing more.


	2. 2nd Night

**Disclaimer:** Kuroko no Basket is owned by Fujimaki Tadatoshi

**Pairing:** AkaKuro

**A/N:** Thanks to my reviewers: **innocence-creator, miso-misi, Narutopokefan, Anglo-Chan, maybe143, Kichou, KanikiKyon, EclipseKuran, Neither of them, Sadistic Crimson Angel Akashi, angel of neverending darkness, Assasin8, Ayusa, fostinefoli, deadlycute17, KurokoTetsuya101** and **3 Guests.** Thanks to the favorite and follow alerts as well!

_Cross-posted on Tumblr._

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**Second Night: The Revenant's Phantasm**

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Kuroko groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking away the fogginess of sleep. Seeing the unfamiliar ceiling, he slowly sat up and his eyes wandered around the room he was currently at, drinking in the grandiose décor, the expensive furnishings, the big four-poster bed with a cover of vermilion color, the large window showing the dark, starry night outside and even the soft velvet couch he was laying at.

He pursed his lips. He wondered where he was—

He stopped and suddenly remembered his last vision of crimson hair and eyes before passing out. No, he didn't pass out, he was knocked unconscious.

Aside from the actual abduction itself, he was surprised to be detected and even got captured considering his weak presence. He doesn't have that many friends which, of course, also means that he doesn't have any enemies (it's one of the perks of being unnoticeable), that could be behind this. He always kept a low profile that's he's practically invisible to others. And judging by the sensation of being stalked since yesterday night, he knew that this wasn't an ordinary kidnapping either.

His aquamarine eyes scrutinized the lavished room. Being held hostage for a ransom was totally out of the question, not that he or his family were rich to begin with. He tried to feel if there were other presences in there with him. Sensing that he was alone, he was about to stand up when he heard a voice.

"Good evening."

He blinked and then suddenly his captor was now sitting in a chair across from him, watching him intently with his ruby red eyes. Giving no outward reaction, he was still shocked to find someone in the room so fast without his notice and he was pretty sure that he didn't hear a door being opened. He was certain that he was alone in the room just a few seconds ago.

"I'm sure you're wondering where you are," his captor said.

He frowned. "No, I was wondering why you kidnapped me."

"Straight to the point, I see."

Kuroko watched the red haired stranger. Regardless of the calm exterior and relax posture, he still emits a dark, powerful and dangerous aura and he knew that this man was not someone to be trifled with. Despite of all of that though, he still felt safe in the other's presence even if he was his abductor and have the feeling that the red head wouldn't try to harm him. He wondered why he felt that way.

His thoughts were interrupted when the other spoke.

"The reason why I took you is because you caught my interest."

He coolly regarded the red head. "And kidnapping me was the only way to get my attention? Don't you think that's a little bit drastic?"

He saw the red head's lips twitched up in an amused smile. "Getting only your attention wasn't adequate enough, I suppose."

"What do you want from me?" he asked. There must be something important of a reason more than interest that the red head had abducted him.

The red head stared at him for a moment before standing up and walked towards the window. "Do you want the truth or the lie?" he asked with his back to him, watching the twinkling stars in the dark sky.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused at where the conversation was going. When he didn't receive any reply, he sighed and opted to answer the question. "Normally, people would pick the truth, right?"

"Normally, yes," the red head nodded, turning to him. "But what about you, what would you choose?"

"To ask that kind of question, it only means that the truth would probably something be something out of the ordinary or something unfathomable," he guessed.

The red head smirked. "Perceptive, I like it." The red head moved towards him without breaking eye contact and sat beside him. "Would you like to know the truth?"

Kuroko couldn't answer. He suppose he could say yes but for the red head to even give him a choice, it only means that the other values his opinion since the red head could just get what he wants from him forcibly.

At the thought and before he could stop himself, he asked, "Do you want sex?"

The red head stared, blinking at him in probably surprise at his bluntness before flat-out chuckling.

Not the reaction he was hoping for, but it was probably a good thing since it can only mean that that wasn't the reason why the red head wants him. "So you didn't kidnap me for that?"

The red head shook his head, amusement still visible on his face. "Though now that you've mentioned it," he said and trailed one finger to his left cheek, "I might consider it."

Kuroko swiftly backed away and cooled his expression before embarrassment could set in. "Then please pretend I didn't ask that."

"Too late," the red head said, a smirk splayed on his lips.

He cleared his throat and pretended to ignore what happened. "Back to the matter at hand, what did you mean by the truth?"

The red head turned back to his serious expression. "I am a vampire and I captured you because I want your blood," he said point blank.

Now, it was Kuroko's turn to be surprised. Did he just hear it right? Did his captor just said that he was a vampire and that he wants his blood? He must have heard wrong. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"I'm a vampire and I want your blood."

No, he didn't heard wrong. The red head actually said that he was a vampire.

He closed his eyes tightly. "This must be a dream, this is just a dream," he whispered to himself, hoping that it really was a dream because hearing about vampires existing was just too unreal but the red head's voice completely shattered that.

"I'm afraid this isn't a dream."

He opened his eyes and clashed with ruby red ones. "You're lying."

The red head raised an eyebrow at him. "I did let you choose between the truth and a lie and what I just said was the truth no matter how improbable it was."

Kuroko regarded the red head in a new light and became slightly wary of him. "So you really are a vampire and not just delusional?"

"Considering that I've been alive for a long, long time and remembered every single detail of it, yes I'm sure that I am vampire and not mentally deranged," the red head answered and to prove his point showed his fangs to him.

Seeing the fangs, Kuroko's heart thudded wildly against his chest. Feeling anxious, he hastily stood up to paced back and forth. He could feel the red head—no, the vampire—watching him calmly. "You're a vampire and you want my blood?" he asked.

"Yes," the vampire frankly said.

He stopped pacing and turned to the vampire. "So you took me here, wherever this is, to drink my blood and kill me?"

"Who said about killing you?"

He stared at the vampire in confusion. "But I thought you took me here to drink me dry, didn't you?"

The vampire looked at him in mirth. "I could but I wouldn't be able to enjoy your blood more if I did that. I like to savor your blood if possible."

"So I'm going to be like your personal blood bank."

"Not the way that I would put it but yes, you could say that," the vampire said. "Don't worry, in compensation, I'll take care of you and your needs."

Kuroko once again paced. "In short, you're going to pamper me like cattle until you decided to butcher me."

"How morbid," the vampire commented.

He paused to glare at the vampire, who seemed entertained by the whole thing. "I'm glad you find amusement in all of this."

"Well, you are quite amusing," the vampire shrugged.

Kuroko sighed and tiredly flopped down on the chair that the vampire previously occupied. He looked at the red head dejectedly. "Why me?"

The vampire stared at him for a minute before leaning forward. "Because your blood is one of a kind, Kuroko Tetsuya, couple with your weak presence, you are an extraordinary human."

He doesn't know whether to be shocked that the vampire knew his name, or his weak presence, or described his blood as odd, maybe all three. Since the vampire was stalking him, of course he'll know about his low presence and the blood is pretty much self-explanatory. But his name, how did the vampire get a hold of that?

His thought must be quite obvious in his expression as the red head smirked and explained. "It was simple really. I followed you on your way home; your last name is on the house's name plate. Vampires have advance hearing so I could hear your mother calling you by your first name. And you already know that I trailed you to your school and teachers do check their student's attendance."

Kuroko berated himself for not thinking of that sooner. He, once again, sighed and rubbed his temple wearily.

"Akashi Seijuurou."

He looked at the red head and blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

"It's my name," the vampire said. "I figured since I already know yours, it's only polite to give you my name."

He was surprised; he never thought that the vampire would introduce himself. "Are you sure that it's fine to give me your name?"

"Of course," the vampire said, confidence oozing from him. "You and I both know that you can't escape from here and from me so whether you know my name or not doesn't matter. And besides, we'll be living on the same roof; it's inevitable that you'll know my name."

The vampire does have a point; he realized that he can't escape from him, not yet at least. There might be a possibility that an opportunity to escape might come for him so for now he'll just have to wait. He doesn't know what will happen to him there but he swore to himself that he'll get away when he gets the chance.

His train of thought dropped when the vampire said, "It's pretty obvious what you're thinking."

"It's not like I'm trying to hide it or anything," he said, shrugging. "Anyone in my situation would think of the same thing."

The vampire clasped his hands together on his lap. "Except that you're calm and accepted the situation with ease. Most would be hysterical especially when they found out that vampires exist and would beg for their lives to be spared."

"It sounds like you've already done this many times," he noted.

The red head smirked. "Actually no, I haven't. Humans are very easy to read, a few praises here and there and you'll have them at the palm of your hands in no time. Persuading them is remarkably easy."

"Persuasion…" Kuroko trailed off and gazed at the vampire in understanding. "That's the reason. You drink their blood and persuade them to forget about it or you."

The vampire smiled in satisfaction. "You're sharp. And yes, persuasion is one of the gifts of being a vampire."

Kuroko narrowed his eyes at the vampire. "If you can persuade anyone to drink their blood, why do you need me?"

"As I've stated before, your blood is exceptional."

Kuroko sighed in defeat. He knew that no matter how hard he tried and insisted on asking the same questions over and over again, the vampire would just evade it in a vague manner and turn the conversation in circles. He knows that all he can do now is to go along with the vampire. For now, at least.

Kuroko returned his gaze back to the vampire. "Why are you telling me all of this? Why don't you just drink my blood right now?"

"I want to," the vampire admitted, his red eyes glinting dangerously, "but not yet and because I want you to know. That's all there is to it."

_No, it isn't_, he thought but didn't pursue more. "I…" he started and took a deep breath, gathering all his courage, "I know that I have no chance against you nonetheless I'm determined to win my freedom back. I'll win no matter what."

The vampire paused at his words and then smirked before moving towards him; his right hand clutching the back of his chair and the other on the armrest, leaning closer to him. "I changed my mind. I want you."

Kuroko tried to back away at the vampire's closeness but it was useless since there's no more space to lean back in his chair and he finally sensed the feeling of being trapped. He glared at the vampire. "You want my blood, you mean."

The red head smiled and tipped his head closer to him. "Well, yes, there is that. But I want you," he said and leaned closer to his ear to whisper, "I want all of you."

**xXx**

Akashi watched the change in Kuroko's expression from wary to confusion and then finally to understanding. He backed off when the teal head gently pushed him away.

Kuroko sighed and then curiously stared up at him. "What made you changed your mind?"

He fought off the urge to smile at Kuroko's impassiveness. Here he was revealing his interest to him and not just for his blood and Kuroko was taking it all in a stride as if he was always propositioned like this. "Your resilience, love," he answered.

Kuroko furrowed his brows in confusion at the endearment he used but seemed to disregard it. "That's a very shallow reason."

"Maybe so," he agreed. "But I'm certain that I will find more reasons in the days to come."

Kuroko narrowed his eyes. "Just so you know I will make my stay here difficult for you."

"I expect you to," he said, smirking. "If anything it will make my day very entertaining."

Kuroko glared at him fiercely. "I am not for your amusement and I'm not the type to give up. I will find a way out of here," he said and stood up, walking towards the door.

Akashi grabbed Kuroko by his waist from behind and muffled the surprised gasp that the teal head let out. "I already said it, didn't I? Struggling is futile. I advise to just accept your fate, my love," he whispered to Kuroko's ear.

Akashi smirked in amusement that instead of fear and despair, he could feel Kuroko's indignation and ire flowing from him. He removed his hand from Kuroko's mouth when the teal head tapped it so he could talk.

"It is not fate when I've been taken against my will," Kuroko said, irritation lacing through his voice.

Akashi chuckled. He tilted Kuroko's head to the right baring that smooth pale neck and he could see the teal head's pulse throbbing swiftly. Oh, how he loved to sink his fangs to taste that sweet blood but he could wait. He's widely known for his patience after all.

Instead, he pressed a light kiss in Kuroko's neck. He smirked when Kuroko stiffened up in his hold.

"…Or maybe it was your destiny to be taken by me," he said, continuing their conversation as he placed soft kisses down Kuroko's neck. Not caring of the nails digging hard on his arm as he was more focused on Kuroko's sudden labored breathing. It didn't hurt anyway.

When Kuroko didn't respond or more like couldn't form any coherent thought, he let out his fangs and slightly grazed Kuroko's neck with it. He closed his eyes in appreciation when Kuroko shivered in both fear and pleasure.

"How responsive, my love," he whispered to Kuroko's ear and with his right hand covered the teal head's closed eyes.

Unbuttoning Kuroko's uniform, Akashi continued his ministrations and kissed Kuroko's neck all the way down to one exposed shoulder. He gently bit Kuroko's shoulder careful to not draw blood. He almost groaned when the teal head moaned in response. He was close to biting Kuroko and to finally taste his sweet blood when the door suddenly burst open.

Akashi felt Kuroko snapping out of his trance and struggled to break free from his grasp but he held him tighter.

"Akashicchi, are you there? We're…back…"

Akashi regarded his companions' shocked expressions. Kise had his eyes widened in surprise and was probably close to fainting. Aomine had his jaw dropped open in disbelief. Murasakibara stopped eating the potato chips he was carrying. And Midorima dropped the lemon—must be his lucky item for the day and saw that even the green head's glasses was skewed.

Akashi glared at them, willing for all of them to go away.

Kise was the first to come out of his shock and seemed to get what his glare meant as after a hasty "Sorry for disturbing!" the door was then shut closed, leaving him and the frozen Kuroko inside.

He sighed at the interruption and reluctantly released Kuroko from his grasp. He raised an eyebrow when the teal head didn't move and seemed to be rooted in his spot. He walked in front of Kuroko and almost smiled at the chilling and cold glare that he received.

"We'll continue this discussion some other time, love."

He smirked when Kuroko's glare got colder. He reached out one hand to gently caressed one soft pale cheek and then grabbed the teal head's chin to looked deeper in those beautiful sky blue eyes. He stepped closer to Kuroko until their faces were only a hair's breadth away, their breaths mingling together. He smiled when Kuroko seemed unfazed at their closeness.

"I would like to spend more time with you, love, but it seems like my companions are waiting for me," he murmured, his lips slightly brushing against Kuroko's.

"Then, you should let me go," Kuroko whispered back.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. So sleep for now, my love."

As soon as he said that, Akashi's red eyes glowed and saw Kuroko's eyes fluttered close. He caught the passed out teal head and carried him to his bed. He carefully put down Kuroko and tenderly ran his hand through to those soft teal locks. And after kissing Kuroko chastely on the lips, he made his way to the door.

It was now time to explain about the new sudden changes to his coven.


	3. 3rd Night

**Disclaimer:** Kuroko no Basket is owned by Fujimaki Tadatoshi

**Pairing:** AkaKuro

**A/N:** Thanks to my reviewers: **angel of neverending darkness, KurokoTetsuya101, Kichou, kuroshiro19, BashyBunny, yukiseijuro, Kandaka, Myadorabletetsuya, sp, Akiii, neither-of-them, EclipseKuran, Tennu, Silvinukas, deadlycute17, Ayusa, Dark Cat Food Lover, shirobara1, clarit, Lily Fenton Phantom, gloriaakowuah, EchizenRyoma, xeyuxe20, Assasin8** and **4 Guests.** Thanks for the favorite and follow alerts, too.

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**Third Night: The Miracle's Curiosity**

* * *

"_I refuse to have a human live with us Akashi."_

"_I agree with Midorimacchi. Why does this human have to live with us vampires anyway?"_

"_Yeah, plus he's a guy. If you brought a hot, busty chick then I wouldn't mind."_

"_That's not the point Aominecchi!"_

"_What about you, Atsushi?"_

"_I don't mind. I'm okay with Aka-chin's decision."_

"_You're always okay with any of Akashi's decision, Murasakibara."_

"_Eh~ But it's Aka-chin, Mido-chin. I'll always follow Aka-chin."_

"_Enough. I know why you feel opposed about this but my decision stand firm. Tetsuya will live with us and I suggest that you will at least try to be civil with him even if you won't like him. Understood?"_

"_Yes, we understand."_

**xXx**

Kuroko moaned sleepily when he felt the warmth of the sunlight coming through the window. He burrowed deeper to the bed and tugged the covers close to his body. He wondered when his bed became so soft or did his mother bought a new bed for him last night…

He immediately opened his eyes and abruptly sat up on the bed. His eyes apprehensively glanced around the unfamiliar room and its expensive décor. No, not an unfamiliar room, this was the very room that he woke up in last night.

He groaned and rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on. He remembered everything that had happened. As much as he wants to forget and hoped that it was all a dreadful dream, it wasn't.

It was all true. Vampires, they truly exist.

And he was kidnapped by one of them.

He once again groaned and covered his flushed face with his hands when he recalled how the red haired vampire—Akashi—touched him and even his embarrassing reactions. It took all of his willpower to appear nonchalant after what happened in front of the red head. Though he got the feeling that Akashi knew what he really felt.

His eyebrows scrunched together thoughtfully when the last thing he saw before he passed out was Akashi's red eyes glowing. The vampire must have put him to sleep to see the people who came in last night to which he can only assume as other vampires. He frowned at the thought. Since Akashi was covering his eyes, he didn't saw what they looked like. He forcefully shoved the thought aside when he remembered the position he was literally in at that time.

After making sure that there were no other presence in the room (not that he could sense a vampire's presence anyway), he got out of the bed. He was glad that the vampire didn't take off his uniform while he slept. He almost blushed at the thought.

He cautiously walked towards the door across from him and opened it. He blinked in surprise at what he saw. The closet was much bigger than his room, he saw shelves all lined up with rows and rows of shoes and a provided space for hanging racks filled with different kinds of clothes. He never saw so many clothes and shoes in a closet in his entire life. Calling it a closet was an understatement, it deserves to have a new name.

He lightly touched one coat and after one look, knew that it was expensive and possibly even custom made. It wasn't a farfetched idea that the remaining clothes were also the same.

He noticed a door to the right side of the closet and opened it with care, showing a large and clean bathroom. The thought of taking a bath to such a glamorous bathroom was tempting since he did feel a little sticky and haven't taken a bath since the day before. But he decided against it as escaping from that place was far more important than anything.

With that in mind, he quickly got out of the closet. He walked towards the other door to get out of the room and altogether that mansion until a voice stopped him.

"Good morning, love."

Kuroko's heart started to beat wildly against his chest and he knew that the vampire could hear it as well. He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath and slowly let it out. He needed to calm down if he's going to interact with the vampire again. He needs all his wits as the red head can be manipulative when he wants to be.

He slowly turned around and found the red haired vampire calmly sitting in a chair while casually sipping tea. He looked at the assortment of food laid on the table. He almost forgot that he hadn't eaten anything since last night and he was grateful that his stomach didn't growl at the sight since he knew that the vampire would probably hear it. He already suffered enough embarrassment last night.

"Aren't you going to eat?" he heard Akashi asked, who watching him in interest.

Kuroko stared at the vampire and said the first thing that came to his mind. "Why aren't you burning?"

Akashi stared at him for a moment before chuckling. He placed down his teacup and turned to him, an amused smile playing on his lips. "Why don't you sit and eat first, my love, while I answer your questions."

Kuroko was indeed hungry. He supposed he could eat first to replenish his energy and at the same time come up with some kind of plan to escape. He chose to sit opposite of the red head, a reminiscent of last night.

Kuroko absentmindedly said his prayers and took a toast, spreading strawberry jam on it. He then stopped and stared at the food in his hand.

"It's not poisoned."

Kuroko glared at the vampire, who was watching him in amusement. Still, he took a bite out of his toast and ate quietly. He was taking a croissant when Akashi finally answered his earlier question.

"It's just a myth. Vampires can't be burned by the sun. It just gives off an uncomfortable sensation mostly to newborn vampires as we are a creature of the night. Old ones, however, aren't affected by it."

Kuroko looked at Akashi. "So you're an old vampire then?"

"In a way, vampires are old," Akashi vaguely replied with a smirk.

Kuroko sighed at Akashi's ambiguity and took a sip of his tea. _Hmm…chamomile._ "Let me guess, holy water and garlic doesn't work on you either," he said and glanced at the bed he slept in. "And you don't sleep in coffins, too."

"Thankfully, no."

Kuroko stared at Akashi with a serious expression. "So how do you kill vampires?"

He thought that Akashi wouldn't answer his question or would even try to change the subject. Much to his surprise, the red haired vampire did the opposite.

"Decapitation, fire and a stake through the heart works," Akashi answered.

"Are you sure that telling me that information is the right thing?"

Akashi smirked at him. "My love, the matter doesn't lie on killing a vampire, it's on how to catch one fast enough to kill it. Even if you knew how to kill one, you still couldn't defeat a vampire much less kill it. Humans aren't capable of doing that after all."

Kuroko narrowed his eyes at the subtle insult. "Aren't there vampire hunters out there or something like that?"

"Before, yes. They're all annihilated now, I'm afraid," Akashi said before drinking his tea.

Kuroko set down his now empty teacup since he was already full.

Akashi elegantly raised an eyebrow at that. "Don't tell me you're done eating, my love? What you ate doesn't seem sufficient enough."

"I don't have a huge appetite to begin with."

Akashi leaned back on his chair and clasped his hands over his lap. "We'll work on that then."

Kuroko didn't like the sound of that.

"Any more questions, my love?"

Kuroko frowned. "Why do you keep calling me love?"

Akashi let out a secretive smile. "I'll tell you when I think you've earned it."

Kuroko opened his mouth to ask what that meant but was interrupted by a sound of knocking from the door. He gazed at Akashi, who took a sip of tea, about to ask who it was but the door opened before he could and Kuroko saw a handsome blond young man carrying a dozen of paper bags with him.

"I've brought what you asked Akashicchi!"

Kuroko blinked when the blond unexpectedly vanished and almost jumped in surprise when the other was suddenly near him without his notice. He finally understood what his friends feel whenever he popped out of nowhere.

"Don't scare him Ryouta," Akashi lightly admonished.

The blond—Ryouta?—smiled sheepishly at him. "Sorry about that. Here," he handed him the paper bags, "that's clothes and other essentials you need. It's not much but it was the only thing I could gather in such a short time. Akashicchi didn't give me much time to shop."

"I told you to do that last night."

"But the shops were all closed!"

Akashi coolly glanced at the blond. "That is not my problem."

"That's why I used my connections to buy all these stuff," the blond said, pouting. "I'll buy more, later."

"You don't need to," Kuroko butted in, making the two vampires—he was sure that the blond was also a vampire—turned to stare at him. "I'm not staying here."

The blond watched him in confusion before fearfully glancing at the stoic red head. "I'll go ahead—"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Or not," the blond mumbled.

Kuroko fought the urge to shiver when Akashi leveled him with a cold and hard gaze. "I'm going home," he said with all the determination he could muster.

"No, you're not," Akashi said slowly as if talking to a child.

Kuroko didn't like that one bit, at all. It was now his turn to glare coldly at the red head. "I am and that's final."

"No, you don't. You will stay here Tetsuya."

Kuroko paused when the vampire said his first name for the first time. He could feel cold sweat trickling down his neck. Akashi didn't raise his voice but he could still feel the heavy weight of his words. It wasn't a request, it was an absolute order. He either obey or else.

He was vaguely aware when the blond vampire cleared his throat and tried to diffuse the tense atmosphere.

"Akashicchi, Midorimacchi wants to talk to you about something."

Akashi stared at him for a moment longer before sighing and stood up from his chair. "I'll leave you in charge of Tetsuya, Ryouta."

"Yes, Akashicchi."

Kuroko was then left alone with another vampire.

**xXx**

Kise Ryouta stared at the teal haired human before him. He had to admit that the human was cute. But he still couldn't see what Akashi saw in him. He seems perfectly ordinary to him. He met and saw more appealing humans than this one.

However, there was one thing strange about him. He discreetly sniffed the air. That's right. The human doesn't have any particular scent. If it weren't for the boy's pulse beating, he wouldn't notice that a human was in the room. Was this the reason why his leader is interested in the boy?

But last night, he saw Akashi almost feeding on the human and he knows that Akashi was a bit selective when it comes to the blood he drinks. So that means that this human's blood is at least tempting to his leader.

Be that as it may, orders are orders. He's now in charge of the little human.

He smiled amicably to ease the boy. "Are you done with your breakfast?"

The human boy looked up at him. "Yes." Tilting his head to the side, he said, "We haven't formally introduced yet, I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. May I ask who you are?"

Even if he didn't give any outward reaction, he was impressed at the boy's composure even after undergoing Akashi's intimidating stare. Not to mention, polite and mild-mannered, too.

"I'm Kise Ryouta," he introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, Kuroko-kun."

The human stood up from his seat and bowed. "Likewise, I'll be in your care then Kise-san."

Kise laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "You don't have to be so formal."

The human boy just stared at him before turning to the leftover food on the table. "It's such a waste to throw all these food away."

"Relax, you don't have to worry about that," he said. "Murasakicchi will take care of it."

The human boy glanced at him. "Kise-san is also a vampire, right?"

Kise knew that the boy knows the truth and was just asking for confirmation. Nonetheless, he smile and showed his fangs. "Yes."

The human boy blinked at his fangs but doesn't seem daunted by it.

How intriguing.

"This Murasakicchi…"

He laughed. "Sorry, I tend to add –cchi to those I respect. Actually, it's Murasakibara. His full name is Murasakibara Atsushi. He's kind of like our chef because, well, he really has a huge appetite and is a great cook."

The human boy looked confused. "Is he also a vampire?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"So vampires also eat human food?"

"That's right," he said and watched the human's puzzled reaction. "You just saw Akashicchi drinking tea just now."

The human boy shrugged. "I thought he was faking it. Besides, I never saw him eat anything."

Well now, that's rare. The only time his leader doesn't eat any human food is when he just recently consumed blood.

"Did Akashicchi…uh…" he trailed off. How should he ask this? He doesn't want to come off as rude. If he disrespects the human boy, Akashi will skin him alive.

"Feed on me?" the boy finished his question. "No, he didn't."

Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice from the book Alice in Wonderland had said. How curious, indeed.

"Why don't you take a bath and refresh yourself, Kuroko-kun?" he suggested, "before I tour you around the mansion."

The human boy sighed, "Alright." He took the paper bags and made his way to the bathroom.

While the human boy was busy, Kise stepped out of Akashi's room and called Murasakibara, who was probably in the kitchen on the other side of the mansion. Since their private rooms were soundproofed, their advance hearing wouldn't work.

In an instant, a tall vampire appeared in front of him, his long purple hair tied in his back. "What is it Kise-chin?" Murasakibara lazily drawled.

"Help me clean up the leftover breakfast in Akashicchi's room," he said and let the other vampire inside the room.

"Didn't Aka-chin and his human eat?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. They were both drinking tea when I came in."

"It looked like it hadn't been touched," Murasakibara commented. "Oh, except for the toasts and one croissant."

"Don't mind about that, Murasakicchi. Let's just start cleaning," he said and started taking away the plates.

"…Or I could just eat it."

He whirled to the purple haired vampire when he heard that. "All of it?"

Murasakibara gave him a nonchalant shrug and just ate the scones closest to him.

"Fine, just hurry up before the human boy is done with his bath."

"Does Kise-chin know why Aka-chin likes the human?" Murasakibara asked in between bites.

"I don't know yet," he answered while absentmindedly stacking the empty plates that the other vampire gave him. "But the human is kind of intriguing."

"I'm done!" Murasakibara exclaimed while licking his fingers.

"Already?!" He was only distracted for a second and shook his head when he saw that the food a while ago was all gone, not even a crumb was left. How the purple haired vampire could eat all of that food in such a short time is a mystery. But he knew that some questions were better left unasked.

He passed the empty dishes to Murasakibara. "Here, take this to the kitchen and I'll take care of everything else."

"Okay~" Murasakibara soon left the room after, carrying all the plates.

He was done cleaning when the human boy emerged from the bathroom, wearing the clothes he bought, a white polo shirt with a red vest on top, black pants and black shoes.

He saw the boy fiddling with his vest. "Don't you have anything casual?" he asked.

"Akashicchi likes to dress impeccably."

The human frowned. "I'm not him."

He doesn't know how to respond to that. He cleared his throat. "Shall we tour around the mansion now, Kuroko-kun?"

"Sure," the human boy sighed.

Leading the way, Kise in his tour guide voice showed the human boy around the vast expanse of the mansion. Pointing here and there explaining the purpose of the rooms they came across with though some of them he just made up on the spot (he got the feeling that the human knew that as well but just let him be) since he doesn't know what they are for.

He thought for sure the human would at least marveled at the grandeur displayed in the mansion but the boy just impassively looked at it and seems to be uninterested and was just following his whims, having nothing better to do.

The only time that he saw the human boy having close to a reaction was when he said that their next destination was the library. Akashi did tell him beforehand that the boy likes to read and to take him to the library.

While walking, he glanced at the quiet human beside him. "Do you have any questions so far?"

"I do actually," the boy said, staring straight ahead.

He smiled. "Ask away!"

"How did you become a vampire Kise-san?"

He suddenly stopped; his smiled dropping off his face and turned to the human with a serious expression. "That's too personal for a question, don't you think?"

The human glanced at him for a moment before continuing his way. "I suppose."

He followed the human and the tense and awkward silence between them was then broken by the boy.

"How old are you, Kise-san? Or is that a personal question as well?"

Kise decided to ignore the last part. "You mean, how long have I been a vampire?"

The human glanced at him coolly. "Yes."

"I've been a vampire for about two hundred sixty two years."

He saw the human looking at him in surprise. "You're that old?"

He chuckled and laced his hands behind his back. "Not really. I'm actually the youngest out of all of us."

The human slightly tilted his head. "There are more of you?"

"You mean vampires as a whole or…"

"No, I meant here, in this mansion."

Kise scratched his left cheek awkwardly. "Akashicchi didn't tell you?"

The human boy shook his head.

Gesturing for the boy to continue walking, he explained. "There are vampires who chose to live alone in isolation or become a nomad wandering around the world. And then there are some vampires who formed a group among themselves and lived together. They are called covens."

The human boy seemed to mull at the information. "So all of you here are a coven?"

"Yup!" he nodded his head. "There are five of us in here and Akashicchi is our leader."

"Does every coven have a leader?"

"Most of them, yes. Some don't have any."

"Should I be worried that one of your…uh, friends will bite me?"

He laughed. "Relax, we won't feed on you. We have full control on our thirst and won't just drink blood of a human just because we're near them. And besides, you're Akashicchi's."

The human boy turned to glare at him. "I am not his property."

He smiled indulgently at the teal head. "Of course," he said.

Obviously, it was a lie as ever since Akashi laid his eyes on him and even went as far as to have him live with them; the human boy became without a doubt his leader's possession. Though if lying was the only way to make the human boy be at ease, he supposed he could do that. The human will know the truth sooner or later anyway even if he was against it.

They stopped in front of huge door and Kise opened it, letting the human boy stepped inside first. He saw how the boy's sky blue eyes widened in astonishment at the huge expanse of the library with countless floors to ceiling shelves all lined up with hundreds and hundreds of books, scrolls and ancient artifacts displayed. The library wasn't his favorite place but even he had to admit that it was pretty exceptional.

For the first time, Kise genuinely smiled at the wonderment in the human's face. "Do you like it?"

"I do, this is an amazing library, Kise-san. Thank you for taking me here."

He was surprised when the human gave him a soft and beautiful smile. And did his heart skip a beat when he saw that smile? He shook his head at the thought. _Pull yourself together, Ryouta! Remember, he's Akashicchi's human._

He silently followed as the boy walked to a closer shelf and looked at the titles of the books and trailed a finger on them as he moved on.

"Did your coven collect all of these books?" the human asked as he picked up a book written in Russian.

"Well, it's mostly Akashicchi and Midorimacchi," he answered. "Ah, Midorimacchi is kind of like our vice-leader and Akashicchi's right hand man."

"I see. Some of these books are in different languages and even first editions, these are collector's items. Your coven must have been all over the world."

He shrugged. "We did but we still considered Japan as our home and stay here most of the time."

The human boy looked up at him. "Can I read one of the books here?"

"Of course!" he said with a smile. "That's why we went here so you can read any books you want."

"Alright," the human boy once again smiled. He took a book from the shelf and settled himself on one of the couches situated in the library and quickly immersed himself into the novel he picked.

Kise couldn't help but smile at the eagerness of the boy as he plopped himself down on a chair across the teal head and took a basketball magazine in one of the shelf.

It was a long, long while when the human suddenly spoke.

"Why does your leader want me?"

He turned to the teal head who asked out of the blue. He thought that the human forgot him since the boy was lost in the book he was reading. He was about to doze off, too since he wasn't doing anything and was bored, the magazine he took lay forgotten on the floor.

Putting his chin on his left hand that was resting on the armrest, he gazed at the teal haired human. "I was wondering the same thing myself. You're too ordinary for a human. Akashicchi can do much better."

The human boy stared at him blankly. "I should feel insulted but I guess I would treat that as a compliment."

He couldn't help but chuckle when he heard the human's deadpan words. "Well I have to admit, you're quite fascinating."

"I don't understand. There's nothing fascinating or intriguing about me. And just like you said, I'm too ordinary," the boy said as he slightly tilted his head to the side.

He shrugged. "Well, I don't know about Akashicchi but to me, you're very different from all the humans I know and I've met a lot. They all have unique personalities but they became boring after a while." He stared back at the cyan eyes watching him. "You, on the other hand, are quite an enigma."

The human boy shook his head. "Kise-san's words are full of contradictions. You said that I'm too average then I fascinate you and now I'm an enigma? I really don't understand."

Kise smiled. "I'll go straight to the point then, you're very unpredictable. I think it's possible that Akashicchi took a liking to you because of that."

The boy's eyes narrowed at him. "That is not enough reason for me. And besides, he took me here because of my blood not because I'm a puzzle he wants to solve."

He smirked. "Don't be so sure."

The boy fiercely glared at him, his azure eyes burning ice cold. "All of you may be vampires and I'm just a lowly human but it doesn't mean that you can just toy with me and use me to your whims. You may have me imprison here but I would never ever submit to anyone of you or even to your leader," he said, his voice full of resilience. He then stood up and hurriedly walked to get out of the library.

Kise stared wide eyed at the retreating back of the teal haired human. He blinked.

Well, what do you know; he finally got to know why his esteemed leader was smitten with one Kuroko Tetsuya.

"Ah, wait for me Kurokocchi!"

**xXx**

Aomine yawned widely as he made his way to the garden for an afternoon nap. Even though he was a vampire and was averse to the sun, he still liked to sleep outside especially under the cooling shade of a tree with the soft grass beneath him and besides he wasn't a bit bothered by the sun anyway.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw Kise loitering around the garden. He knew that the blond doesn't like to go outside during the day, not because the sun gives them an unpleasant feeling but because the idiotic blond said that he doesn't want to get tanned like him. He snorted at that, vampires can't get a tan anyway and this was his natural skin color but Kise was stubborn and refused to go out. Just like he said, he's an idiot.

So what the hell is Kise doing outside in the garden?

"Oi, Kise!" he called.

Kise turned around and smiled widely at him, waving his hand frantically. "Aominecchi!"

He ambled his way to the blond. "What are you doing here Kise, grinning stupidly all by yourself?"

"I wasn't grinning stupidly by myself!" Kise whined, pouting. He then beamed afterwards.

Seeing the stupid grin, he was starting to feel an annoyance to the blond which, unfortunately for him, is a usual thing.

Kise continued, "Anyway, I was touring around Kurokocchi and the garden was our next stop."

His brows scrunched together in confusion. "Kuro—what?"

"It's Kurokocchi!" said Kise. "You know, Akashicchi's guest."

"Oh, the human," he said, shrugging. He started to look around for the boy and frowned when he saw no human in sight. "I don't see anyone."

"I'm right here."

He blinked and slowly turned beside him and found a human with a teal hair color and eyes gazing up at him expressionlessly. He suddenly backed away and shakily pointed at him. "What the—since when did you get here?!"

"I've been here the whole time," the human deadpanned, pouting a little.

He stared at the human boy in front of him in a daze. He's never been caught off guard like this before and it was done by a human no less. Even vampires with their fast reflexes had never caught him unaware before (well, with the exception of Akashi but that was given).

He glared hard at Kise, who was laughing his heart out at him. "Shut up Kise!"

"You should have seen the look on your face Aominecchi!" Kise said in between laughs. He smiled at the teal head when his laughter subsided. "Kurokocchi, you're the best!"

The human paid no heed to Kise and bowed to him. "I'm sorry if I surprise you."

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's fine. You don't have to apologize." He intently gazed at the boy in front of him. For some reason, he seemed very familiar. "Have we met somewhere before?" he couldn't help but ask.

"No, I don't think so," the human boy shook his head.

"What are you doing Aominecchi?" Kise asked and tugged the boy closer to him. "Are you hitting on Kurokocchi?"

"Huh?"

"You're using some lame pick-up line!"

"I wasn't, you moron!" he shouted and kicked the blond vampire away. He sighed in exasperation and in the corner of his eye, noticed that the boy was watching him. "My bad, it's just that you looked familiar to me," he said to the teal head.

The boy continued to gaze at him. "Do I remind you of someone Aomine-san?"

"Kind of," he shrugged. "Maybe we passed each other before?"

"That's impossible. Aomine-san wouldn't be able to detect me easily because of my weak presence."

Aomine froze on his spot at the human's words. "You…have a weak presence?"

"He does!" Kise answered him instead. "I almost repeatedly lost him in the mansion because of that."

He ignored the blond and stared thoughtfully at the teal haired human. _I see. So that's why…Trust Akashi and his weird interests._ "Hey, can I ask a question? How did Akashi get a hold of you?"

"He kidnapped me," the teal head straightforwardly answered.

He stared wide-eyed at the boy and he could sense Kise was feeling the same way as him. "Akashicchi did what?!"

The human boy regarded both of them and their surprise reactions. "You didn't know? I thought both of you knew that."

He couldn't help but let out the laughter building inside of him. "Man, Akashi must really like you if he did that!"

The boy turned to Kise questionably. "Kise-kun should already know about it. You were there when I demanded to your leader that I want to go home."

"Wait, when you said you wanted to go home, you mean as in go back to your house and never return here?" Kise asked disbelievingly.

"Yes," the boy nodded. "What did you think I meant?"

"I thought you just wanted some space because you and Akashicchi were having a lover's quarrel!"

The human's mouth turned into a frown. "He and I are not lovers. I only met him last night after abducting me on my way home."

"So you're the reason why Akashicchi didn't come home the other night?"

"Yes, your leader is a stalker by the way," the boy frankly said and even in a monotone voice.

Aomine stared intently at Kuroko before bellowing out a hearty laugh, clutching his stomach. "Oh man, it's been a long time since I had a good laugh like that; the last time was when Kise got drunk."

"Ugh! Aominecchi don't tell Kurokocchi about that!"

Disregarding the blond vampire, Aomine patted Kuroko on the head with a wide grin on his face. "You're a good kid Tetsu."

Kuroko looked confused for a moment but seemed to appreciate his words. "Thank you Aomine-kun," he said with a small smile on his lips.

He blinked when he saw Kuroko's smile and distractedly ran his hand through his teal hair. He leaned closer to him. "Hmm…I didn't notice it before but Tetsu you're pretty cute for a guy."

He gasped in surprise when he felt a sharp elbow hitting him on the stomach and glared hard at the blond beside him. "What the hell was that for, Kise?" he incredulously asked.

Kise gave him a knowing stare and subtly nodded his head at the teal head.

He blinked. He didn't get it. "What?"

Kise face palmed. "You really are an idiot Aominecchi."

"Hey!"

Kuroko interrupted them before the fight could escalate further. "Why don't we go inside Kise-kun, Aomine-kun?"

"You're right, Kurokocchi. I don't want to get tanned like a certain someone," Kise said and glanced at him teasingly.

Aomine's left eye twitched in annoyance and hand chopped Kise on the head. "How many times do I have to tell you? Vampires don't get tan, you idiot!" He turned away before the blond could retaliate and led Kuroko inside the mansion.

Kise easily caught up to them. "Don't hog Kurokocchi! I'm his tour guide and Akashicchi left him in my care."

He snorted. "Well, I'm going to take care of Tetsu now. Who knows what you might do to him."

"That should be my line! You might lure Kurokocchi into your room and do perverted things to him! Kurokocchi is innocent and Akashicchi will kill you if you touch him!"

He glared at the blond vampire. "Shut up! Let's ask Tetsu who he wants to go with!" He glanced back for the teal head only to find no one behind them. "Tetsu?"

His eyes wandered around searching for Kuroko since he might be just somewhere there unnoticeable due to his weak presence. "Do you see Tetsu?" he asked the now paled Kise.

Kise shook his head and turned to him fearfully. "A-Aominecchi?"

Aomine eloquently summed up their situation.

"Oh, shit."

**xXx**

Murasakibara was drifting aimlessly around the mansion, a bag of snacks on his left hand while the other was holding a cream stew flavored Maiubo when he encountered a teal haired boy strolling in the mansion. He remembered that the boy was the human his leader was interested in.

"Hey, you're Aka-chin's human," he said catching the boy's attention.

The boy whirled towards him, glaring a little. "I would prefer if you don't call me like I'm someone's property," he said and then seemed to compose himself. "My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. And you are?"

"Murasakibara Atsushi," he introduced himself between munches.

The boy relaxed a little. "Oh, you're the one Kise-kun mentioned before."

At the mention of the blond vampire's name, he searched for him around. "Where's Kise-chin anyway? Shouldn't he be with you?"

He saw the boy sighed in exasperation. "He and Aomine-kun kept arguing and didn't notice that they left me behind."

"Aka-chin will kill Kise-chin if you got lost."

The boy paused and looked up at him thoughtfully. "You don't mean that in a literal sense, right?"

He shrugged. "Maybe," he vaguely replied.

He gazed down at the human boy, who was looking a bit worried. Akashi wouldn't like it he left the boy on his own. "You wanna go with me to the kitchen?"

"It's not like a have a choice," the human boy sighed in defeat. "I'm not familiar with this place and might get lost."

"Come on then," he said and led the way to the kitchen with the human in tow.

Once there, he turned to the human boy, who was observing the expanse of the kitchen and its expensive and complete utensils. "Have you had lunch yet?"

"No, not yet," the boy said while shaking his head.

"Kise-chin should remember that you're not one of us and needs to eat."

"It's not entirely his fault. I should have told him that I want to eat."

He gestured for the boy to sit on a barstool near the kitchen counter. "What do you want for lunch?" he asked while putting on an apron.

The boy shrugged. "I'm not sure. Just cook whatever you want Murasakibara-san."

Murasakibara then decided to prepare chicken sandwich since it was easy and could make it in seconds. Literally that is. Which is why the boy was surprised when he handed him a plate of sandwiches in no time. "Here."

"…Thank you Murasakibara-san," the boy said and took a bite out of one sandwich. "This is delicious."

He nodded in acknowledgement and just watched the human eat while munching on his snacks.

Last night when Akashi said that this human was going to live with them, he wasn't lying when he said that he was okay at his leader's decision. He knew that it has been so many years since he saw the red head paid attention to anything and anyone. So who was he to go against it? If this boy could make his leader content then he was fine with it.

Once the boy was finished with his lunch (though how could two pieces of sandwiches satisfy the boy was beyond him) and was now drinking water, he said, "I'm making vanilla milkshake."

The boy blinked. "Vanilla…milkshake…?"

He nodded. "Uh-huh~ Do you want some?"

The teal head boy nodded, and if he saw right, a bit eagerly. "Yes, please."

Murasakibara started preparing the milkshake as the human watched him. It wasn't that hard to make and quickly finished it. He handed a glass of vanilla milkshake to the boy. "Here you go."

The boy took the offered drink and took a sip from the straw. "This is so good!" he said and looked up at him with his cerulean eyes twinkling in delight. "Thank you Murasakibara-kun."

He stared at the human boy in wonder. This was the first time that someone genuinely thanked him for the food that he makes. Akashi and Midorima only said that to him to be polite and it's not like they appreciate human food anyway. Aomine only eats meat and doesn't care about anything else. Kise was meticulous at what he eats because he wants to maintain his figure (not that vampires get fat anyway, Kise-chin was just being weird).

Before he knew it, he was ruffling the boy's teal hair in appreciation. "Kuro-chin is nice."

**xXx**

Midorima clutched his lucky item—a teru teru bozu—in his left hand while the other was fiddling with his glasses.

He sighed for the umpteenth time.

Out of everyone in Akashi's coven, he had known the red haired vampire the longest so he can safely assume that he knows Akashi more than anyone else and at least knows of what his leader thinks half of the time. But last night's revelation was probably the most unexpected thing that he had heard from the red head since he had met him.

Akashi is cold, calculating, logical, manipulative, and a master at strategies. The red head always decides what's best for the coven no matter how, sometimes, outrageous those plans were. He doesn't decide things out of a whim.

So imagine his surprise when Akashi proposed that the human he picked up was going to live them, amidst a group of vampires and not just ordinary vampires either but the most powerful coven in the world.

It was the most ridiculous thing that he had ever heard from his red haired leader.

It wasn't the first time that Akashi was fascinated with a human. But he gradually loses interest in them after a few days or weeks and what's more none of them ever lived with the coven; stayed for a night because of a feeding, yes but not lived with them permanently. But it looks like that this human was quite different. Akashi wasn't just interested in the boy, he was smitten with him. And if everything goes accordingly, he was certain that Akashi will turn the human into one of them, a vampire.

Nevertheless, regardless of what he and the coven think about the situation, Akashi is still their leader and his words were absolute so they had no choice but to obey his wishes.

On the other hand, if he deemed the human as a threat to Akashi and in turn the coven, he will have no qualms in ending the human boy's pitiful life even if it means inducing the red head's ire.

"_Kurokocchi, where are you?!"_

"_Tetsu!"_

"_Come out, come out wherever you are!"_

"_Stupid! He's not a dog!"_

"_That hurt, Aominecchi!"_

He glared at the yellow and blue haired vampires roaming down the hallway being noisy and annoying as usual. He strolled towards them. "What are you two morons blabbering about?"

"Ah, Midorimacchi!" Kise greeted when he noticed him. "Have you seen Kurokocchi?"

He pushed his glasses at the bridge of his nose. "If you mean the human then no, I haven't seen him," he answered. He then glared at Kise. "If the boy got lost or worse escape, you do know that Akashi will make you pay, right?"

Kise pouted. "Jeez, I already know that! That's why we're looking hard for him."

"How did the two of you lose sight of him anyway?"

This time Aomine answered. "This idiot"—jerking a thumb to the blond—"kept whining on and on to me that we didn't notice that Tetsu got left behind."

"That's not true! Aominecchi was at fault, too!"

"Enough yammering," he said, he had enough of these two's infuriating arguments. "Just follow the human's scent and you'll find the boy soon."

"He doesn't have any," said Aomine, lazily pocketing his hands.

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We meant that Kurokocchi doesn't have any scent," Kise elaborated.

He narrowed his eyes at the two vampires. "The human doesn't have a scent, none at all," he repeated, waiting for them to disagree with him or tell that it was some kind of a joke but Kise and Aomine did none of that and just nodded at him in confirmation.

"That's impossible," he uttered.

Aomine shrugged at him. "We figured it must be one of the reasons why Akashi is fascinated with Tetsu."

He raised an eyebrow. "One of the reasons, you say. There's more than one?"

"Tetsu is a nice kid," Aomine simply described.

He saw Kise's amber eyes glittered in happiness. "And Kurokocchi is so cute! And mild-mannered, polite though he may be a bit blunt sometimes—"

Aomine slapped Kise's mouth hard to shut him up from his rant. "But the most important thing here is that Tetsu have a very unique trait."

He turned to the blue haired vampire seriously. "What is this trait you're speaking of?"

"Tetsu has a very weak presence."

He paused and then stared hard at Aomine, who was giving him a knowing look. _A weak presence, huh? No wonder…_

Kise must have discerned the stare between him and Aomine and was watching them back and forth. "What's with that suspicious look? Are the two of you hiding something? If it concerns Kurokocchi I want to know!"

"It's nothing Kise," he said, throwing the blond a glare before he could open his mouth to complain. "Let's check first if Murasakibara saw the human."

Midorima didn't wait for their reply before turning around and headed to the kitchen. He then heard footsteps catching up to him. They were halfway to the kitchen when they heard Murasakibara talking to someone and since Akashi left the mansion (without as much saying where he's going _again_); the human was probably the purple head was talking to.

"_Kuro-chin should eat more."_

He heard a soft sigh.

"_How many times do I have to tell you, Murasakibara-kun, I don't have that much of an appetite."_

"_But Aka-chin would like it if you eat more."_

"_Well, I don't."_

Once there, he opened the door and saw Murasakibara eating cookies. It took him a few seconds before he registered the human boy sitting opposite of the vampire and was watching them. He finally understands what Aomine meant by having a weak presence.

Kise ran past him towards the teal haired human and almost hugged the boy but managed to control himself it seems. "Kurokocchi, I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried when you were suddenly gone!"

He saw the human patting Kise's arm in consolation. "I'm sorry for making you worry Kise-kun."

Aomine walked towards the human boy. "You should have called us when you got left behind Tetsu," he said while taking a few cookies from the table to eat.

"I did and for a few times at that. But you didn't seem to hear me." The human then turned to him and watched him for a moment. "You must be Midorima-san," he said and stood up to bow at him. "I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, nice to meet you."

He was surprised at the human's courteous manner and since he knows proper decorum unlike the other buffoons in the kitchen, he slightly nodded his head to the boy. "I'm Midorima Shintarou, Akashi's second-in-command."

Aomine lazily regarded them while stuffing his face full of cookies. "Both of you are too formal."

"Are you saying we should act like a fool such as yourself?" he sardonically said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I'd rather not drink blood for a year than stoop to your level."

Aomine menacingly glared at him. "Huh? What did you just say, you pompous asshole!"

Unfazed, he said, "I'm surprise you know what pompous mean."

He was prepared for Aomine to attack him when the human suddenly barge in. "Um, you shouldn't fight Aomine-kun, Midorima-san," he said and walked closer to blue head to unclench his tightly closed fist. "Aren't the two of you friends?"

"No!" both he and Aomine shouted. He glared at the blue haired vampire for that to which Aomine gladly reciprocated. He could also hear Kise quietly snickering in the sidelines and no doubt Murasakibara was watching them in amusement.

The human looked between him and Aomine. "Really?"

"Midorimacchi and Aominecchi don't get along that well," Kise answered the human's question.

"Mido-chin doesn't get along with anyone except for Aka-chin," Murasakibara added.

He glared at Kise and Murasakibara for their comments but the two vampires didn't seem affected by it though and ignored his glare.

"Then—"

He glanced back at the human boy who spoke.

"—I hope we get along well Midorima-san. I know that it's strange to have a human lived amongst with you vampires but I'll try not to be a bother. Midorima-san is the vice leader, right? In that case, I'll impose on you on how to assimilate myself better here."

Midorima silently regarded the teal haired human in front of him. There was something about him that he couldn't quite grasp. It also didn't escape his notice how the coven accepted him so easily. Kise is used to dealing with lots of different humans and manipulated them to his advantage but it seems that his affection for the teal head was genuine. Murasakibara is uninterested when it comes to humans but it looks like that he was fond of the boy. And Aomine doesn't care about just anyone but he seems to acknowledge the human boy as someone important to him.

If he considered these facts then keeping an eye on the boy for a while will proved to be beneficial for him and maybe for their coven. He had an intention to observe the teal head anyway for any hidden motives so it doesn't hurt to monitor him and his behavior to the rest of the coven.

"Um, Midorima-san what is that you're holding?"

Midorima snapped back from his thoughts and looked at the human boy, who staring at his left hand. He reflexively gripped the teru teru bozu in his hand tighter. "It's my lucky item," he answered, "from Oha-Asa horoscope."

"Horoscope?" the boy repeated, still staring at the teru teru bozu in his hand. "Midorima-san doesn't seem to be the type to believe in those."

Midorima fiddled with his glasses as he explained. "Man proposes, God disposes. I am a man that proposes; I always carry my lucky item of the day with me as my horoscope said."

"I didn't know vampires believe in God or horoscopes."

Every one of them froze on the human's words until Aomine burst out laughing and slapped the teal haired boy on the back.

"Damn Tetsu, you're on a roll!"

"That hurt Aomine-kun."

"Oops, sorry about that," said Aomine and started to rub the boy's back.

Midorima saw Kise glaring at the blue head for that. "Aominecchi stop touching Kurokocchi!"

"What, I'm just rubbing him."

"That sounds so wrong!"

Midorima watched the scene resignedly. It looks like this will going to be a routine from now on.

**xXx**

Akashi opened the door to the mansion and stepped inside. He couldn't wait to see Kuroko again and of course see his flustered reaction to his touches; maybe even take a sip of his sweet blood, too. He was wondering where Kuroko might be when he heard his coven's voices coming from the direction of the kitchen.

"_What do you want for dinner Kuro-chin?"_

"_Anything is fine with me Murasakibara-kun. If Murasakibara-kun made it I'm sure that it will be delicious."_

"_Let's try Japanese then! That's okay with you, right Kurokocchi?"_

"_Cook lots of meat Murasakibara! And hey, maybe Tetsu will eat more. Meat is good for you Tetsu."_

"_Why is everyone fixated on my appetite?"_

"_It's for your own good Kuroko so try to gradually increase your appetite."_

He couldn't help but raised an eyebrow at the conversation drifting from his coven and Kuroko. It was only last night that his coven was adamant in their opposition about having a human live with them. He only left Kuroko to their care for only a day and now everyone was getting along with him. Not to mention, the various nickname that they bestowed upon Kuroko.

His lips twitched up in a small smile. Trust Kuroko to even get along well with a bunch of troublesome and eccentric vampires. He really is full of surprises.

Akashi headed for the kitchen and upon opening the door; his eyes first sought Kuroko's sky blue ones. He knew that his coven had already heard of his arrival so he didn't bother greeting them. "I'm home, my love," he addressed Kuroko.

He disregarded the shock expresssions his coven was sporting when they heard the endearment he used for Kuroko. He walked closer to the teal head. "Aren't you going to greet me back, love?" he asked, highly aware that everyone's attention was now focused on both of them.

"This is your house and I'm your cap—I mean, guest so I don't think me greeting you back is warranted," Kuroko rebutted, unblinking. "Moreover, you have your coven here to welcome you." He then gave Kise a pointed glance.

At the corner of his eyes, he saw Kise wincing and started to cough in surprise before giving him an awkward and shaky smile. "Welcome home Akashicchi."

Akashi deemed no response and just stared hard at Kuroko to which the teal head returned unflinchingly. He sighed and glanced at his coven, who seemed to be captivated at their interaction. It must be because no one ever dared to defy him so openly without capturing his wrath before.

"You're going to prepare dinner, right Atsushi?" he asked Murasakibara.

"Yes, Aka-chin," Murasakibara nodded.

"I'll help you then Murasakibara-kun," volunteered Kuroko, probably because he doesn't want to talk to him.

He ordered Kise and Aomine to set up the table while Midorima asked to talk to him in private to discuss some matters concerning some other coven. When dinner was served, he sat at the head of the table with Midorima on his right and Murasakibara on his left and beside the purple head was Aomine while Kise sat beside Midorima.

Akashi sipped his tofu soup while his attention was solely focused on the teal head on the other end of the table. Well, not entirely on Kuroko but the interaction between him and his coven, particularly Kise and Aomine.

"Kurokocchi, you really should eat more than that," Kise slightly admonished as he stared at the small quantity of food on Kuroko's plate.

Kuroko calmly ate his rice. "I'll get sick if I eat more than I can Kise-kun."

Aomine stuffed more meat in his mouth before turning to Kuroko. "Then, eat more meat Tetsu."

"I'm not you Aomine-kun," Kuroko deadpanned.

Kise glared at the blue haired vampire. "And don't talk and eat at the same time Aominecchi. It's unsightly."

Aomine ignored Kise though and continued to talk to Kuroko. "So if you're not going to eat all your meat, can I have some of it?"

"I don't mind," Kuroko shrugged. "Help yourself Aomine-kun."

"Sweet!" Aomine grinned before taking some meat from Kuroko's plate.

Kise gawked at Aomine incredulously. "Aominecchi, that was for Kurokocchi!"

"Huh?" Aomine looked at the blond with a bored stare. "But Tetsu said I can have some."

Akashi tuned out the oncoming bicker between the two vampires and just watched Kuroko, who was disregarding the squabbling duo in front of him with ease and seems to be comfortable eating in silence with his meager dinner. He had a hunch that the teal head had intentionally done that. Kuroko must have a good grasp of Kise and Aomine's distinctive personalities for him to do that when he had only known them for just a short while.

He inwardly smirked at that, today is really full of surprises for him.

"Didn't anyone tell the two of you that arguing in front of food is rude?" Midorima scolded the two vampires when their fight started to escalate. "If you want to continue arguing then you're free to leave the dining room. You're spoiling our appetites."

"Also, Kise-chin and Mine-chin fight like a married couple," Murasakibara unhelpfully added while lazily watching them.

"We don't!" both Aomine and Kise vehemently protested.

Midorima then turned his sharp green eyes to Kuroko, his mouth turned into a frown. "And Kuroko, if you think I don't see what you're doing because of your weak presence then you're gravely mistaken."

Kuroko paused, having caught in the middle of putting almost half of his dinner in Aomine's plate. "Ah, I've been found out," he muttered.

"Finish your dinner Kuroko," Midorima succinctly ordered.

Kuroko sighed but did try to finish his dinner albeit a bit slowly, his action obviously forced.

"I'll make a vanilla milkshake for you later, Kuro-chin," said Murasakibara, motivating the teal head.

The purple head's incentive seemed to work as Kuroko looked more determined even through his blank expression in finishing his dinner.

Akashi leaned back on his chair and just contentedly watched his coven and Kuroko. In his mind, he realized that it has been too long since he had dinner with everyone else like this. It changed because of Kuroko. It almost felt like this was a routine and occurred every day. He has a distinct feeling that this was only the start of a shift in his coven. He supposed he doesn't mind.

He carefully put his chopsticks down on top of his bowl, signaling that he was done. The sound of it reverberated over Kise and Aomine's dispute while Midorima reprimands them again, making everyone's spines stiffened with the exception of Kuroko, who just finished with his dinner as well.

He didn't say anything and just clasped his hands together over his lap, waiting for everyone to react first.

Midorima took the initiative and excused himself, saying that he has some documents to run over to which he nodded in approval. Murasakibara was the second to leave and told Kuroko that he's going to make his milkshake.

Kise awkwardly looked between him and Kuroko before standing up and said that he'll wash the dishes. After clearing everyone's plates away, Kise left dragging Aomine as well much to the blue head's irritation and yelled at Kise to let him go but the blond ignored him.

Then it was just him and Kuroko.

Akashi stared at Kuroko who looked straight back at him, neither of them saying any words. He first broke their eye contact and stood up from his chair. "I'll walk you to your room, love," he said.

He thought that Kuroko would refuse (the teal head sure loved to defy him at every turn) but he didn't and just silently followed him out of the dining room as he led the way to his private room. Once there, he opened the door and gestured for Kuroko to head inside first.

He watched as Kuroko took a seat in his favorite chair and turned towards the door when someone knocked, opening it.

Murasakibara entered carrying a tray with a glass of vanilla milkshake and a bottle of wine for him on it. "Here's your milkshake Kuro-chin," he said as he placed the glass on the table on front of Kuroko.

Akashi settled back on the couch as Murasakibara filled his glass with red wine. He carefully took the glass, swirling it a little before taking a sip.

"That's a real wine and not blood, right?"

Both he and Murasakibara paused at Kuroko's question. He couldn't help the smirk emerging on his face. Kuroko is really amusing. "Would you like to take a sip and find out, love?" he offered, tipping the glass towards the teal head.

Kuroko narrowed his eyes. "I'd rather not."

"Relax Kuro-chin," Murasakibara interjected. "It's just wine. It doesn't taste good if you add blood on it."

Kuroko looked hesitant. "That's good to hear…I guess."

"Do you need anything else Kuro-chin?" Murasakibara asked.

"No, I'm fine," Kuroko said, taking a drink of his vanilla milkshake. "Thank you Murasakibara-kun."

"Okay~ Good night Kuro-chin, Aka-chin," Murasakibara said before leaving the room.

"Good night," both he and Kuroko said at the same time.

Akashi stared at the glass in Kuroko's hands. "Your favorite drink, I presume."

"Yes," Kuroko nodded. "I'm very particular when it comes to vanilla milkshake but Murasakibara-kun makes it just the way I like it."

"No wonder Atsushi is so happy."

Kuroko blinked and tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Atsushi is passionate when it comes to food," he explained. "So seeing someone clearly enjoying the food he makes is fulfilling for him."

"Really? But I only ate so little at dinner."

He smirked. "I believe you pose as a challenge for him. So be prepared when Atsushi insists on making you eat more for the next few days."

Kuroko sighed tiredly. "Again with my lack of appetite."

"You'll find the reason for that soon enough," he answered nonchalantly before changing the subject. "How was your day, love?"

"It was fine," Kuroko answered nondescriptly. "Kise-kun toured me around the mansion."

"Memorizing the mansion's layout and looking for escape routes perhaps?" he assumed, one eyebrow arched.

Kuroko shrugged in reply, neither denying nor confirming his accusation.

Trailing a finger to the rim of his glass, he asked, "Did Ryouta treat you well?"

"Yes, he was amicable at first but…"

He looked at Kuroko when the teal head trailed off. "But?"

"But he suddenly got overenthusiastic and then started adding –cchi to my name even if I demanded not to call me in that way."

"Ryouta does that to people he respects. I'm curious as to what you did to warrant his acceptance in such a short time," he mused.

"I don't know either," Kuroko said, furrowing his brows in puzzlement. "He changed after I said that I won't submit to you or to your coven."

Akashi smirked at that. No wonder Kise fell for Kuroko's charms so easily. "You're a strong willed person, love. Ryouta could see it and respects you for it."

"Is that so?" Kuroko asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly not believing him.

Akashi refrained from answering. "What about Daiki? What did you think of him?"

He stared hard at Kuroko when the teal head let out a fond smile and said, "Aomine-kun seems so free-spirited and the type to do whatever he wants."

"You like him," he stated rather than questioned.

Kuroko nodded absentmindedly. "Aomine-kun is the opposite of me in every way. But there's something in him that just draws you to him, a magnetic pull of sorts. And you unknowingly just found yourself into his pace."

Filling his glass with wine, he said, "That's a very detailed description. Should I be jealous?"

"Why would you be jealous?" Kuroko retorted.

Akashi chuckled at the very sincere and genuine question of Kuroko. The teal head could be naïve at times, too. "I agree with you about Daiki," he answered, evading Kuroko's question. "It's one of the reasons why I offered him to join my coven. It is also because if him that Ryouta joined us. They may always argue but Ryouta greatly admires Daiki."

"That's nice to hear," said Kuroko, a small smile on his lips.

Gazing at Kuroko over the rim of his wine glass, he asked, "And your thoughts about Shintarou?"

Kuroko looked thoughtful. "Midorima-kun seems to be reserved, a loner, formal and takes his job as your second in command very seriously."

"That is the reason why I chose him as my right hand man," he said, "because he's dedicated in his position. I can assuredly leave the coven in his hands when I'm more inclined to other matters."

"Like stalking and kidnapping me, for instance," Kuroko deadpanned.

He smirked unabashedly. "Yes, exactly."

"I don't know how everyone puts up with you," Kuroko said while shaking his head resignedly.

"The same way I put up with them, I suppose," he said. "Leading them isn't that simple, they aren't normal even by vampire standards."

Kuroko's mouth curved in a soft smile. "That, I can agree."

"You seemed to be closer with my coven even though you've known them for a day," Akashi casually remarked. He put down his glass of wine and stood up from his chair and walked closer to the teal head, leaning close to him with his hands on the armrest, effectively trapping Kuroko in his seat. "And I've noticed that you called them by their name and for some reason I haven't heard you say my name yet. Is there a reason for that, my love?"

Kuroko just stared at him impassively. "They were all nice to me."

He raised an eyebrow. "Love, are you insinuating that I wasn't nice to you?"

"Well, you did kidnap me," Kuroko quipped. "And that isn't a very nice thing to do."

His lips twitched upward to a smile. "You do have a point," he said. He leaned closer to the teal head to whisper, his lips slightly brushing with Kuroko's sensitive ear. He inwardly smirked when he heard Kuroko's heart started to beat faster. "Then, how about I do something nice to you? Would you like that, my love?"

"I would like to go home," Kuroko gritted, trying to push him away. "And please, stop getting close to me."

He grabbed Kuroko's hands and gazed sharply at him. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

Kuroko glared at him. "Why? If you want my blood, you can…"—he stopped and took a deep breath—"…you can feed on me but at least let me go back home, back to where my normal life is."

"I can't Tetsuya. This is your life now."

Kuroko just stared back at him, studying his expression, weighing the truth of his words. He then averted his eyes and tugged his hand free which he released. "I'm tired. I would like to rest now," he said, still not looking back at him.

Akashi sighed and gently took Kuroko's hand to pull him into his arms, which seemed to surprise the teal head and momentarily paused. He ran his hand through those soft teal locks. "I'm not making any promises but I'll try to think about it. Is that enough for you?"

When he felt Kuroko nodding his head, he took a step back and cupped the teal head's cheeks. "Good night, love," he murmured and pressed a soft kiss on Kuroko's forehead.

After giving one last look at Kuroko, who was touching the forehead he just kissed in a daze, he walked towards the door. He'll just slip in his bed later when Kuroko is fast asleep but for now he'll give him the space he wanted.

"…Akashi-kun."

He stopped when he heard his name and looked back at Kuroko.

"Thank you."

His eyes softened and gave the teal head a tender smile. "You're welcome, my love."

* * *

**A/N: **So many of you are asking if the rating will go up to M. Sorry to say but it won't. I don't feel comfortable writing lemon, lime or even smutty. Even so, the future chapters will have smexy times between our favorite pairing so please look forward to it.

In other news, I decided to have a Q&A Corner! So if you have any questions about the story, current chapter or even future chapters (I won't spoil you but I could give hints), feel free to ask! I'll post it at the end of the chapter so everyone could read it and to avoid repeated questions, too.

Ask away everyone!


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